The present disclosure relates generally to monitoring of particulate discharge and, more particularly, to methods, systems, and apparatus that can be used to audit and/or calibrate particulate monitoring devices.
A variety of suspended particles may be found in a typical atmosphere whether indoor or outdoor. Size, chemical composition, concentration, and temporal variability all have the potential to affect public health and perception of pollution. As a result, particulate monitoring devices or instruments are becoming more prevalent in both process and environmental applications. The increased use of particulate monitoring devices/instruments may require that the devices/instruments undergo more stringent auditing for particular monitoring applications and/or to develop application specific calibration curves to improve the accuracy of the devices/instruments. In this regard, initiatives may be taken to improve the accuracy of a particulate monitoring device that include, but are not limited to, development of calibration curves based on a range of particulate concentrations, verification of existing calibration curves, and verifying/documenting an instrument's response. Conventional techniques for auditing and/or calibrating a particulate material monitoring device/instrument typically involve installing the particular monitoring device/instrument at a source site where the particulate material is generated. The installed particulate monitoring instrument's output is compared with the results of an existing reference method that provide the particulate material concentration in a plant's stack or duct. Unfortunately, these conventional techniques generally require the particulate monitoring instrument to be first installed at the source site and, therefore, cannot be used to audit and/or calibrate the particulate monitoring instrument offsite at a potentially more convenient location.